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Yes - carrying foreign currency is a PIA for banks and they charge you enough to cover their costs as well as to discourage you from doing it again.

Pay for all you can with your CCs and pull walking around money from your checking account at an ATM. This is the cheapest way to do it -unless you have a fairy godmother who changes currency for free.

Posted by: DrG on Feb 25, 14 at 11:38am Posted in: Europe Tagged: Czech Republic
Looking at an on line currency converter, 10,000 Czech Korunas would come to $503 US. But my Chase bank will charge me $562. Is it best to wait until I get to Prague and use an ATM?

As all of the above, wait until you get to Prague. Better yet, wait till you get to an ATM attached to a bank in Prague center. Avoid the train station for currency draw. Too many panhandlers and who knows what hanging around in there. Also you can avoid CC and ATM fees if you shop around and get an account at a credit union. Mine charges me nada for European transactions.